Learning to Fly
by PandaPjays
Summary: Tala runs in order to forget. He runs despite the pain and the injuries he causes. He runs so he can remember what it was to fly. TalaBryan.


So... it's raining again. Therefore, I'm in a mood. I'm actually quite proud of this one. I tried to be a tad more descriptive than I normally am but I'm not sure how that turned out XD

Anyways, I hope that you enjoy it!

**Warnings:** Implied sexytime and possible implied character death.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own. Love.

* * *

Tala ran.

He ran with the speed and urgency of someone being chased by something he never wanted to be caught by.

He ran with his arms pumping as hard as his legs and the burning of his lungs warning him he couldn't run much longer.

He ran ignoring the pain as his arms and legs sent out their last warnings that, no matter what his will told them to do, there were physical limitations he had to abide by.

He ran even as his body gave up on him, folding not-so-gracefully and ploughing into the ground.

In his mind he ran even then, ignoring the limitations of muscle and bone and ignoring common sense. He ran with the wind in his hair and the world blurring around him. He ran with his heart beating in time with the steady thump of his feet against the ground. He ran until he flew, the ground unable to keep him.

Even as his consciousness fled in response to lack of oxygen and overwhelming pain, Tala ran.

-o-

He woke slowly. The pain hit him first. The ache of his arms and legs combined with the throbbing of his bones, all protesting that he'd pushed them too far. On top of those low, dull notes of pain were the sharp ones caused by his sudden meeting with the ground. He could feel the sharp sting of grazes on his forearms where they had blocked his fall and a stripe of biting pain across his cheek.

He groaned as he opened his eyes, the light adding a new pain to his tally. He was in his own room. Someone had kindly left the curtains open in what he could only assume was an attempt to burn his retinas out.

"What were you thinking?"

Tala started as the previously-unnoticed presence made himself very much noticed. He winced at the pain the sudden movement caused before he gingerly turned his head to see a glowering Kai sitting in the corner on an uncomfortable-looking chair.

"I'm waiting for an answer", Kai said in a tone that implied that if he had to wait much longer self-inflicted injuries weren't the only ones Tala would have to worry about.

Tala licked his lips trying to think of a way he _could_ answer Kai. Or at least a way that wouldn't make Kai put him under lock and key to protect him from his own stupidity.

The edge of a glass of water was pressed to Tala's lips.

"Drink." Kai ordered.

Tala did as he was told, drinking awkwardly from the cup Kai held. He tried to nod to indicate he'd had enough but instead managed to inhale some of the water. His subsequent coughing fit not only sent a fresh wave of pain through his body but also bumped the glass and spilled the rest of the water over Tala's front.

He flinched as the icy water seeped through his clothes to touch his already painful skin.

Kai made a sound that may have been annoyance and gently but firmly pressed a white cloth to Tala's shirt, soaking up some of the liquid. "What were you doing, Tala?" he asked more gently.

At last, a question he could answer without having to think.

"Running." Tala said, surprised at how raspy his voice was. Though, after running until he couldn't breathe and then trying to inhale water, he shouldn't have been so surprised by the state of his vocal chords.

Kai gave him a look before abruptly standing, taking away the cloth and the warmth of his hand. "When you're done being an idiot just let me know."

He turned and stalked out of the room, one of the tails of his scarf hanging limp and damp by his knees while the other trailed impressively behind him.

Tala sighed as much as his injuries allowed him to. He hadn't been an idiot. He'd just been... Running.

The redhead slowly sat up in bed, ignoring the way his muscles screamed at him. He was a professional athlete. A little muscle pain couldn't bring him down. It might slow him, though.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and slowly inched forward, putting his weight first on the balls of his feet and then gradually moving until he was standing.

His legs and his body hated him for it but he'd proven many times that strength of will overcame physical limitations. Even when those limitations won the battle, he knew his will would always win the war.

Tala staggered to the window, looking out at the landscape the Russian winter had provided for him. Even now he had to stifle the urge to simply hurdle the window and run again.

_Fuck it_.

Tala pushed open the window, smiling as the freezing air poured into the room, numbing all the surface pains and distracting him from the deeper, more substantial ones. He carefully swung one leg out, straddling the window sill before the other leg followed and his bare feet hit the hard ground.

Tala smiled, looking around to make sure no one had seen his escape. He began to run again, ignoring the way his muscles screamed and the way the frozen ground bit into his bare feet.

He closed his eyes, trusting instinct to guide him safely. His face broke into a wide grin as he felt the air streaming past him, parting before him and leaving a wake behind.

Tala stretched out his protesting arms as he ran, loving the feeling of the air's resistance around his arms. This was what he needed. This was more than running. He was above the pains and the aches of his previous attempt. He was above the chorus of hurt, both sharp and dull, both inside and outside.

Out here, while his feet were torn into shreds by the hard and unforgiving ground, he was free. Out here, where the deep and abiding ache of loss was inconsequential compared to the thrumming of his heart and the burning of his lungs, he was _flying_.

-o-

"_Are you sure about this?" Tala asked as he leant comfortably against the solid form of Bryan. He could feel the heat of the other boy even through both of their thick jackets. He leant back to press his face against the other's pale neck, smiling as Bryan's fur collar tickled his face._

"_Of course." Bryan held Tala's hands in his own, entwining their fingers briefly before guiding the redhead to hold Falborg's launcher. "Are you?"_

_Tala smiled as he settled his grip around the unfamiliar launcher. Wolborg's was much smaller and much better suited to the redhead's smaller hands. "Of course", he echoed._

_Bryan's hands settled over Tala's, helping him to find the most comfortable grip. Tala's ear was warmed by the other's hot breath. It was a little disconcerting seeing the steam from Bryan's breathing out of the corner of one eye but Tala wouldn't, no, couldn't move._

"_Three", Bryan breathed into Tala's ear, his grip tightening around Tala's in preparation._

"_Two", Tala mouthed the familiar countdown along with the other, the muscles in his arms tensing._

"_One."_

_In unison they pulled the ripcord, launching Falborg on to the uneven ground. The beyblade zipped through the obstacle course nature had provided, dodging where it could and ploughing through obstacles it couldn't avoid._

"_Can you feel it?" Bryan asked, his hands still over Tala's as they watched Falborg._

_Tala shook his head, watching the blade with fascination. Falborg moved differently to his own blade; while Wolborg moved with the ease and grace of a wolf guided by instinct and the hunt, Falborg was guided by something different._

"_Wait." Bryan said reverently. "Close your eyes."_

_Tala did as he was told, trusting that Bryan knew what he was doing._

"_Falborg." Bryan said evenly. It wasn't a shout, it wasn't even a command. And yet_—_ Tala's world changed._

_The redhead gasped as the falcon was released, soaring up into the sky and taking Tala with him. Tala could _see_ the air currents. He could feel the poetry as they lifted him up and away from the cold, hard earth. He was dimly aware that, yes, there was a ground beneath him and that, yes, one day he would have to return to it._

_But not yet._

_Tala heard a low chuckle as he realised he wasn't only flying with Falborg. "I told you." Bryan said as they joined hands and flew._

-o-

Tala was brought back to reality by the sharp crack of a tree branch followed by belated pain across his face. Another set of scratches and bruises he couldn't explain to Kai.

That thought made him lose his footing and stumble, crashing into a bank of hard-packed snow and bringing his flight to an abrupt end.

Tala whimpered as his body regained itself, cataloguing both the old pains he'd aggravated and gleefully telling him about the new ones this latest jaunt had caused. He risked a look down at his feet, quickly averting his eyes from the mess the unsympathetic ground had made of them.

But, just for a few minutes, despite the pain and the loss that seemed to soak through every nerve and muscle he possessed, he had flown.

He had flown just like that day when Bryan had given him the gift of flight.

And that was worth the horrible breathlessness that burned his lungs. That was worth the ache of muscles used past any sane limits. That was worth the confused and angry looks from Kai every time he came home from one of his runs, bent and broken and unable to explain why.

-o-

_Falborg didn't always assist Bryan in flight. Bryan showed him the secret one day in a dark and stuffy room, closed off from anything resembling the wide and free sky._

_Bryan's warm breath and soft lips taught him. Bryan's gentle movements and soft touches showed him how to fly without the wings of a falcon._

_As their bodies moved together, ignoring the darkness, ignoring the room that hid them from the expanse of the sky, they learned to fly together, soaring higher than they ever thought possible._

_The first time they flew Bryan had begun laughing. Not the dry, sadistic chuckle Tala had grown to love as the only way Bryan could express happiness. But rather, the surprised, joyous laugh of a child unfettered by a childhood that would take a lifetime of memories to forget._

_After that first time Tala could hardly bear to be rooted to the ground. He hated the way his heavy body anchored itself to all that was known and stable._

_He hated it because Tala knew he didn't need all that was known and stable anymore. All he needed was Bryan. Together they could fly._

-o-

Kai found him huddled beneath the tree he had fallen underneath, exhausted and shivering from the cold. He didn't say anything, only gathered the redhead in his arms and carried him back to the cold, dark cottage where they were staying.

Tala sighed quietly, a small exhalation of breath into Kai's jacket, as they stepped over the threshold and he could no longer see the sky. He ignored the way the sound made Kai clutch him closer, afraid that, if he let the redhead go, Tala would only run again.

Kai walked through the house to the bathroom, setting Tala down on the edge of the bathtub. Tala didn't resist as Kai gently began to remove the layers of clothing that had protected the redhead from the cold but had done nothing to protect him from himself.

Once Tala was naked, Kai took off his own shirt, leaving his pants on, before guiding an unresisting Tala into the shower. He turned on the tap as hot as it could go before beginning to wash Tala. Kai's touch was neither impersonal nor sexual as his hands ran over Tala's body, discovering each new cut and bruise. Finally, after the rest of the redhead's body had been attended to, Kai sank down to his knees to look at the ruined mess that was the redhead's feet.

They had first been torn up by the ground and the rocks before being frozen and further mutilated by Tala's persistent running. Now they were just painful to look at. Kai was surprised the redhead was still standing. Anyone with less control over their body wouldn't be able to support their weight on those feet.

Slowly and patiently, Kai bathed Tala's feet, refusing to leave them until he had cleaned the cuts as best as he could and massaged enough blood into them to turn them a healthy pink colour. Now, at least, they would heal if Tala gave them enough time.

Kai stood again, groaning quietly as his stiff knees protested at the movement. He leant past Tala to grab the shower tap and turn off the water. He stepped outside the cubicle to grab two towels, one which he carelessly tossed over his own shoulders and the other which he used to dry Tala thoroughly.

His task finished, he gathered the redhead into his arms again.

Kai opened his own bedroom door and lay Tala gently down on the bed. He stood slowly so as not to disturb Tala before walking quietly over to the window and firmly closing the curtains.

Tala closed his eyes and turned his head away from the window, immersing himself in the unfamiliar feeling and scent of Kai's bed. It was much softer than his own. Though Kai had suffered through many of the same experiences as he and Bryan had, Kai had always had the distinction of being Voltaire's son. This had always afforded him some privileges and had translated to him enjoying some of the nicer things in life as an adult.

Tala, on the other hand, only slept on a bed because he had to. He was much more comfortable on the hard floor.

-o-

_Bryan collapsed against Tala, their sweaty bodies trembling and heaving with exertion. Tala's lips found the other's- not in demand but rather as a gentle, sated thank-you._

Thank-you for showing me how to fly, _Tala's eyes said as they met Bryan's._

_Bryan's weight slowly and reluctantly removed itself from Tala, leaving a trail of kisses and heat behind._

_Tala watched with half-lidded eyes as Bryan cleaned himself up and dressed. He loved watching Bryan move. Just as his beyblade had the grace of free flight, unhindered by the limitations of the ground, Bryan moved through the world as though he was floating. Bryan moved like flight was a natural state and he only stayed on the ground because the world couldn't comprehend him otherwise._

_Bryan smirked as he finished dressing, looking down at the still-naked, sprawled form of Tala lying comfortably on the wooden floor. "Staying there?"_

_Tala smiled, one hand reaching up toward Bryan in invitation. "Kiss me."_

_Bryan complied happily, careful not to rumple his clothes. "I have...to go" He gasped between Tala's insistent kisses. "I can't be late"_

_Tala gave him one last, lingering kiss before pushing him away, a playful smirk on his lips. "Go then. I'll be here."_

-o-

Tala didn't mean to be this way. He hated the way Kai, once so selfish and proud, had reduced himself to care for the now flightless redhead.

He hated how the only way he could experience the euphoria of flight was through both creating and overcoming his own pain and limitations.

He hated it, but still he couldn't resist the call of the open and free sky telling him to fly away from all of this.

He felt Kai's weight on the bed before an arm snaked around his middle, anchoring him to the ground.

"You need to stop this. Your body needs to heal."

Tala turned his head to look at Kai, blue eyes meeting crimson. In those deep red eyes he saw both pity and understanding. Kai knew what it was to fly. But, unlike Tala, he didn't need someone else to show him how. Like Bryan and Falborg, Kai's Dranzer could fly high above the rest of the world.

Tala closed his eyes and rested his head in the crook of Kai's neck. No tears seeped from his eyes, as children they had all learned the futility of crying. Instead, there was a constant, sad longing. A silent keen of grief for what he had lost.

-o-

_Bryan hadn't come home._

_Tala had waited. First patiently, then angrily, then in a state of panic._

_He didn't sleep that night, his mind going over every possibility, questioning why his falcon hadn't come back. As the sun rose his panic had faded into knowing._

_He didn't know why Bryan wasn't coming come or how it had happened but he knew in his heart that he wasn't coming back and wouldn't ever come home again._

_Bryan was flying. He had no use for the ground any more. All it did was restrain him from disappearing into the wide, free sky._

-o-

Kai held Tala gently, not making any sound. He simply stood witness to the broken soul he had cared for over the past few months.

When he had found Tala he hadn't understood. It was only when he had taken him out of that lonely apartment that he had begun to comprehend why his best friend wasn't there any more. It was his friend's body that fought him as he forcibly removed the redhead from the room. It was his friend's voice that had pleaded with him. It was his friend's force of will that insisted he had to keep his promise to Bryan and stay in that place.

But it wasn't Tala.

Tala was trapped inside that shell, too shocked and horrified at the sudden and vicious removal of his wings. Tala, his cool and logical friend, had lost the ability to fly.

Kai sighed quietly as he felt Tala's body grow heavy and his breathing even out. One day he would get his friend back. One day Tala would wake up and realise that the wounds from his torn wings didn't hurt as much as the wounds he had caused in his attempts to regain them.

One day Tala would learn that he could live with the pain of the ground. He could live with the pain of knowing he would never feel the euphoria of flight again. He could live with the hole in his heart Bryan had left behind.

But today was not that day.

Kai slowly removed himself from his bed, careful not to disturb Tala from his healing sleep.

Tala would never fly again.

-o-

"_Fly with me." Bryan had said as he collected his beyblade and launcher. "I can show you how."_

_Tala hadn't believed him.

* * *

_Please tell me what you think. Like I said before, I tried a slightly more descriptive style than my normal one and I'm not sure how it turned out. I'd really love your opinions.


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